Go Set a Watchman, a book set in the 1950s, illustrates the rise of racial issues, and its influence on the white community, specifically the Finch family and its associates. The main protagonist, Jean Louise Finch, undergoes her own journey as an adult as her visit back to Maycomb reveals her own identity and an understanding of the identities of those around her. Her interactions with Henry, Atticus, and Uncle Jack, not only depicts her own character and development but also exemplifies the state and development of the United States after World War Two.
Jean’s relation with Henry prompts the revelation of her independence along with her blindness to individual prosperity. World War Two played its effects on Henry as he returned with the …show more content…
The first incident that crumbles the pedestal upon which Jean has placed Atticus occurs when Jean finds a pamphlet called The Black Plague. The content of the pamphlet apalls and disgusts her, as she sarcastically defines Aunt Alexandra’s idea of good content as “the Negros, bless their hearts, couldn’t help being inferior to the white race because their skulls are thicker and their bran-pans shallower.” Jean’s reaction of throwing the pamphlet into the trash conveys how Jean believes such ideologies to be ridiculous and even considers African Americans to be just as capable as whites. Her character which seems to lean more towards black equality rather than black inferiority may have been a result of her father’s actions in the black rape case that occured when Jean was a child. It is with that case that Jean begins to “hero worship” her father and stands proud in Atticus’s “moral uprightness”. However, her perceptions fall apart as she catches Atticus at the Maycomb Council Meeting who is condemning the integration of races. The scene laid in front of Jean’s eyes is ironic, for the man who has indirectly and directly shaped Jean’s character is no more the man who Jean thought he was. This realization also portrays the new recognition of contrast between Jean’s beliefs which shapes her character in comparison to Atticus’s. Jean embodies a vocal version of the her childhood version of Atticus who treated African Americans with with kindness and level of respect. However, in chapter seventeen, when Jean confronts Atticus’s participation in the council, it becomes clear the Atticus’s actions are more patriarchal than a commitment to standing against the injustices faced by blacks. In their argument, it is evident that Atticus and Jean both have different perceptions as Jean believes that
Jean’s relation with Henry prompts the revelation of her independence along with her blindness to individual prosperity. World War Two played its effects on Henry as he returned with the …show more content…
The first incident that crumbles the pedestal upon which Jean has placed Atticus occurs when Jean finds a pamphlet called The Black Plague. The content of the pamphlet apalls and disgusts her, as she sarcastically defines Aunt Alexandra’s idea of good content as “the Negros, bless their hearts, couldn’t help being inferior to the white race because their skulls are thicker and their bran-pans shallower.” Jean’s reaction of throwing the pamphlet into the trash conveys how Jean believes such ideologies to be ridiculous and even considers African Americans to be just as capable as whites. Her character which seems to lean more towards black equality rather than black inferiority may have been a result of her father’s actions in the black rape case that occured when Jean was a child. It is with that case that Jean begins to “hero worship” her father and stands proud in Atticus’s “moral uprightness”. However, her perceptions fall apart as she catches Atticus at the Maycomb Council Meeting who is condemning the integration of races. The scene laid in front of Jean’s eyes is ironic, for the man who has indirectly and directly shaped Jean’s character is no more the man who Jean thought he was. This realization also portrays the new recognition of contrast between Jean’s beliefs which shapes her character in comparison to Atticus’s. Jean embodies a vocal version of the her childhood version of Atticus who treated African Americans with with kindness and level of respect. However, in chapter seventeen, when Jean confronts Atticus’s participation in the council, it becomes clear the Atticus’s actions are more patriarchal than a commitment to standing against the injustices faced by blacks. In their argument, it is evident that Atticus and Jean both have different perceptions as Jean believes that